


The Misty Woods

by Marcus_Vici



Series: The Two Sides of a Coin [2]
Category: No Fandom
Genre: Be prepared for the open final, F/M, Female Protagonist, Forced Marriage, Gen, Magic, Magic-Users, Magical Artifacts, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Part two of the duo, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sibling Bonding, Slowly paced style, Soul Bond, Walks In The Woods, Written for a Class
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 20:04:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18858148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marcus_Vici/pseuds/Marcus_Vici
Summary: The wizards invaded her home and turned her family into prisoners, so Lia Austere was forced to accept the demands of the new monarch. Leaving everything behind, she starts her way into what seems like a better future.





	The Misty Woods

It was a beautiful sunny day in the Kingdom of Elenghard when they came from another dimension. The armored wizards invaded the Kingdom and killed its monarch, his wife and children.

A new king has taken the throne. He possessed powerful magical abilities, and the people of Elenghard accepted his authority over them. The king had a son, who was a good looking young man, and many girls throughout the Kingdom wished to be his princess.

Among the closest friends of the now dead king was the Head of Austere family. When the old king was assassinated, everyone close to him was killed as well, but not Austere. The new ruling elite did not kill him and his family, because the blood of Austere had a special quality – it could enhance anyone`s magical abilities, if a bonding ritual is made. Thus, the Austere family was kept alive, but in a position that is more similar to one of slaves and not of free people .

When almost two months have passed after the invasion, in one morning the Head received a letter from the new king. It was written there that the family can return their previous position beside a monarch, if a girl of Austere is willing to marry the prince and swear to him her loyalty. The Head, who was unable to even leave his house during these two months, fully understood that the king is interested not in any Austere girl, but in his own daughter Lia. She was a real beauty and was well educated, and, what most important, she had the strongest Austere blood in her veins.

The Head new that it is necessary to answer the letter as soon as possible, if he does not want to get his family into even more trouble, so he didn`t have that much time to make a decision. After thinking for a few hours about the opportunities that the marriage will give to his family, he asked Lia to come into his room. When she came in, he told her about the letter.

Lia looked thoughtful for a minute, but then she suddenly smiled:

'His Majesty is merciful to us, father. You should write him that I am willing to accept his offer. '

'Lia, are you sure? You are not obliged to marry the prince if you don't want to. We can find another way to swear our loyalty to the king', he replied, looking worried.

'I am sure. Our family should return to the king`s side, where it belongs, and if I can prove our loyalty by marring the prince, then I`m pleased to do that.'

A couple of minutes passed in silence, while the Head was examining his daughter`s face, but she looked pretty confident and not at all scared. Finally, he sighed and took a few steps to his daughter, placing his hands on her shoulders.

'I am sorry to burden you with this, Lia', he said. 'But if you`re really sure you can marry the prince, then I`ll inform the king right away . '

'Of course, father', she smiled again. 'If you do not mind, I`ll go pack my things and spend some time with mom and brothers before the king writes back. '

He nodded and released her shoulders, taking a step back. 

'Yes, dear. I`ll inform you when I receive the answer', he hesitated for a moment, before saying: 'And you should know that I`m proud of you, Lia.'

'Thank you, father.'

***

Later that week Lia was informed by her father about the details of the marriage ritual. In order to prove her loyalty, she should go through the special magical forest called 'The Misty Woods', and no one should assist her in this journey. The Woods work as a labyrinth, and if her intends are not sincere, she will never find a way through the forest to the castle. 

When the marriage ceremony is over, her father will receive a royal seal that guarantees their family freedom and respect they deserve. Lia was glad to hear that, and she once more confirmed her willingness to marry the prince.

The last day before her departure Lia has spent with her mother and two brothers. Her elder brother was the Heir, so they never really spent that much time together, but still, he hugged her at parting and wished her good luck. Her younger brother, on the other hand, was the one she spent her childhood with. His name was Ren, and he was a cheerful boy with a shiny smile, whom she loved endlessly. When there was the time to depart from home, she felt her heart breaking in halves from sorrow.

'Don`t be sad, dear sister. I`m sure the prince won`t lock you in the castle, so you`ll be able to visit us rather soon', said Ren, giving her a hug.

'I`m sure he won`t', she smiled in response and, after another minute, parted herself from him. 

After giving her family one final look, she picked up from her father`s hand a magical key sent earlier by the king, and activated it. A portal transported her to a clear area outside of the forest beaming dark in the distance.

These were 'The Misty Woods'.

Now, with no one else around, Lia finally allowed herself to stop wearing her mask of a responsible daughter and exhale all the emotional tension she felt floating inside her mind. Her knees became weak, so she sat on the grass and closed her eyes. If she is to be confident with herself, then she doesn`t really want to marry anyone, not even the good looking prince. She doesn`t really know him and cannot even be sure that he will treat her well.  
The fear of being a wife to a man to whom she feels nothing but distaste grew inside her, and she tried to calm herself down. She has already made the decision. There is no way back. 

No matter what her father said, the fact is that if she have refuted the king`s offer, the nest day they all would have been in prison, waiting for the execution. Their blood is too precious to leave it for the king`s enemies to use. Therefore, she indeed made the right choice: her family will be free and happy, so this marriage, even if in the end it will become an unbearable burden to her, still worth it.

Lia stood up from the grass and took a look around. The woods in front of her were definitely magical in their nature: the brownish-green trees of different kinds were very thick and stood tall, almost hitting the sky up above them. Between their old, wrinkly stems a strange mist was floating, hiding the far distant trees as if some sort of a gray silky veil .  
Lia`s eyes narrowed and she heaved a sigh before taking the first few confident steps towards the forest. Soon she entered the grayish mist, and it felt surprisingly warm on her skin.

***

Not that deep in the woods she suddenly stumbled upon a stranger who was standing there, leaning against a tree. He was not so much older than she was, his hair were messy and of a very light blond color. He did not wear a robe as all the wizards did, but he had a knife in a golden sheath attached to his forearm . 

Lia stopped a few steps before him and greeted him, not knowing what to expect.

'Oh, Hello! You should be Lia, right?' said the stranger and gave her a surprisingly wide smile. 

'Yes, I am'.

'You`re probably stunned to find someone in here. And I know, usually no one is allowed to enter the woods while someone else is tested by this labyrinth, but I assure you that I won`t stay here for a long time… My name is Noel, by the way', said Noel, still causally leaning against the tree and looking thoughtfully at the sky as if not speaking to her right now. 'I came here because a friend of mine asked me to give you something you may find useful.'

'And what is it?' Lia asked, feeling unexpectedly relaxed, as if not talking to a strange guy with a knife. Probably, this was because he didn`t look at all dangerous, and had he any bad intentions about her he would already reveal it in some way.

'This thing', said Noel and put his hand in a pocket, getting a small round metal thing out of it. 'It`s a magical compass. It can lead you to any destination you need, so in some sense it`s a perfect instrument to trick the magic of these woods', he mused, now looking directly into her eyes. Lia felt a sudden shiver going down her spine, but she smiled to Noel and replied:

'It truly is cheating. Honestly, I`m not sure if I can take it from you. I don`t want to risk my family by using some unknown magical artifact to get out of the woods. '

'I understand', he nodded, taking a short pause before continuing. 'But do not worry, this compass will not change the magic of this place in any way. You may not even use it if you want, but just take it, so that in case you get lost in here you would be able to find a way out.' 

Lia was a smart enough girl, so she knew that Noel would not leave her if she didn`t take the thing. So she agreed and took the compass that he gave her.

'Thank you.'

'Welcome.'

Lia bid him goodbye and resumed her way through the wood, but turned her head when Noel suddenly sighed.

'One last thing, Lia', he said, looking for some reason concerned. 'Please, don`t rush to a false conclusion when encountered with something strange.'

Lia felt as her body tensed from these words. Does Noel mean that she should not believe him, even though he doesn`t look hostile to her? 

She didn`t have an opportunity to ask, because Noel smiled to her at last before quickly disappearing in a flash of light. Another portal?

Lia shook her head in annoyance and resumed walking.

***

The sun has already touched the line of horizon when Lia realized that she is totally lost. Everything around her turned dark, and she didn`t have a flashlight or even a candle to light her way. She stumbled over a root of a tree and decided that if she is to continue walking in the dark, she will most definitely break her neck at some point, so she stopped. 

Lia knew that there were no carnivore animals in the forest to be afraid of. For this reason she didn`t bother searching for a safe place and simply put the sleeping sack that she brought with her from home on the grass. She rested herself in the sack and quickly slipped into sleep.

The next morning she woke up from a strange noise. When she opened her eyes she saw a brown squirrel beside her with something sparkling in its tiny paws. Lia realized that the squirrel was holding the compass which Noel gave her yesterday. She carefully extended her arm to the squirrel, trying not to scare it, when it suddenly looked her directly in the eyes. Lia for some reason shuddered by the sight of it, but the squirrel soon released her paws and clattered. The compass fell on the ground, and the squirrel quickly climbed up a nearby tree, disappearing from Lia`s sight.

Austere, stunned by such an unexpected start of the day, looked at the compass still lying on the ground and took it in her hand. It was most likely made out of silver or a metal of similar color; it was round and pretty small. When she opened it she saw a shimmering red arrow with no letters indicating North or South, and a beautiful background under it picturing the night sky full of glowing stars. The compass was indeed magical . 

Lia closed the compass and sat. Then she stood up and folded her sack, tucking it back into her bag. She was thinking for a moment before opening the compass again. The arrow wasn`t pointing at a particular direction, turning back and forth as if not sure where the direction lies. Lia exhaled heavily and concentrated on her mission to reach the castle. A second later the arrow sharply stopped and quickly turned to somewhere between South and East if they were drawn here. 

Lia was thinking for another minute, still not sure if she should follow the compass or not. The idea of wandering in the woods for another day or two wasn`t pleasant at all, not to mention that she didn`t have enough food for that, so she sighed and decided to accept Noel`s help.

She was expecting the magic of compass to work well, because Noel didn`t have any reason to give her a broken artifact, but couldn`t suppress her amusement when she reached the end of the 'Misty Woods' only an hour later. The king`s castle was already seen at the distance.

She smiled when she saw people in white royal robes approaching her. They greeted her and asked her to follow them. Soon Lia was entering the giant golden doors of the Elenghard castle.

***

Lia was led to her rooms and left there with handmaids to prepare for the wedding ceremony. She haven`t seen either the king or the prince yet, but everyone around was so nice to her that she didn`t worry much. She has passed the test of the labyrinth (even though not in an entirely fair way, but still), so she proved to the king that she doesn`t want to deceive him or something. Now she is secured to believe that by the end of the ceremony her father will receive the royal seal, and their family won`t be the prisoners of their own house for any longer. 

These thoughts evoked a feeling of relief inside her heart, and Lia smiled almost happily to the handmaids. The old woman who was standing beside her smiled in response and started giving orders to other handmaids, while combing Lia`s thick hair.

Suddenly, someone knocked the door, and a moment later it opened wide, revealing a tall man in black robes. His face was hidden deep inside the hood, and only blood-red eyes were glowing in the dark. 

Everyone in the room froze, it was like the men`s eyes had a magical effect on them. Lia was stricken with fear when she realized that the woman who was previously combing her hair was now leaning against the wall as well as other handmaids. Their faces were blank as if under some kind of a spell.

The man came in and looked directly at the girl. 

'Nice to meet you, Lia', said the man, and Austere exhaled sharply realizing that she was holding her breath since the man came in. 'I`m here not to harm you.'

Lia didn`t know what to reply to that, but the man, apparently, didn`t need an answer. He made a few steps towards her and slowly raised his arm, placing it gently on her cheek. Lia shuddered when she tried to move away but couldn`t.

Even though she couldn`t see the man`s face she felt that he was smiling when he spoke:

'I`ll cast on you some spell. It`s not dangerous, do not worry, it will only make you protected from rituals. They simply won`t work on you anymore. '

'Why? ' she whispered, feeling weak and as if about to faint.

'I can`t answer this question right now, but you`ll understand it later,' he replied and dropped his hand, taking a step back. Lia didn`t feel anything unusual and was mildly curious if the man has actually casted the spell or if he lied.

The stranger, however, didn`t plan to stay in the room for any longer. He gave Lia a final look before turning to the still open door and quickly leaving. 

Lia heard a loud rustle and turned her head to see handmaids now sitting on the floor, unconscious. A moment later she felt the control over her body regained, and instantly kneeled on the floor because of striking weakness.

She looked at her left arm, now leaning against the floor, and was startled to find a silver bracelet there, not knowing where she got it from. It felt warm on her skin and she was for some reason sure that if she tried to take it off she won`t be able to.

Lia slipped to the floor, and the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was the noise of numerous people entering the room.

***

While his sister was laying on the floor unconscious, Ren Austere was in a garden, sitting with a book on his lap and with a royal guard standing nearby. The weather today was wonderful, and the book was pretty interesting, but no matter how hard he tried, Ren couldn`t even finish the page, reading the same paragraph over and over again. He was too nervous. Today his sister will get married and the fact that instead of three guards, who accompanied him everywhere he went during these long two months, only one was watching him right now undoubtedly proved it. 

Ren sighed and turned his eyes off the book. He looked thoughtfully around him before realizing that his guard somehow disappeared and was now substituted by an unknown man in black robes. He didn`t wear a hood, so Ren could see that the man is quite young - somewhere around his twenties. The man had raven hair, almost as dark as his robes, gray eyes and very pale skin which looked like it wasn`t exposed to the sun much often.

'Good afternoon, sir!' said Ren. 'Can I help you?'

The man looked surprisingly sheepish for a moment before the corners of his mouth pulled up in a gentle smile.

'Hello, Ren.'

'You know my name?' Ren raised a single brow while thinking vigorously where he has met the man before.

'I do,' said the man with a curt nod. 'And yes, you can help me. Shall we take a walk around the garden? I need to tell you something.'

'Em-m, sure.'

Ren stood up from the chair and left his book on it. He approached the man, and they started walking on the lane between various kinds of trees and bushes.

The man was taller than Ren and he definitely was a wizards. Even if not for his robes, Ren felt a powerful magic swirling around the man, an unknown kind of magic. One thing that he could confidently say about the man, however, is that his magical affinity is most definitely not light.

Ren was stunned to realize that the dark affinity of his companion didn`t scare him, though it possibly should.

'So what did you want to tell me, sir?'

'Ren,' mused the man and looked at the boy. For a moment it appeared to Ren that the man`s eyes glowed red, but no, they were of the same gray color as before. 'I hate to tell you that but your sister is in a great trouble. The wedding ritual didn`t go as planned, so they need your blood to see what went wrong. For that reason she asked me to take you to the castle.' 

Ren was silent for a long minute before he came to a conclusion that the royal guards all over the place wouldn`t allow anyone dangerous to enter. As so, he clenched his fists and replied:

'Well then. How are you going to take me to the castle?'

The man reached his pocked and got a small golden sphere out of it.

'This sphere will transport you there,'

'It`s a portal, isn`t it?' Ren couldn`t help but feel curious to touch the sphere. He never used a portal before.

'Yes, it is,' nodded the man. 'So… do you agree to accompany me then?'

Ren didn`t answer, he simply reached the man`s hand which was holding the sphere and nodded.

A wave of magic radiated from the man, and the two disappeared in a flash of light. They reappeared, however, not in the Elenghard castle, but in a huge hall with rough stone walls and a high ceiling which was drowning in the dark. Ren, astounded by the sight of it, suddenly felt dizzy, and would have fallen on the floor if not for the strong hands which supported him. A moment later he was already watching a peaceful dream.

'Are you sure it was necessary?' someone said, lurking in the dark corner of the hall.

'I am.'

***

Lia woke up in a small room that she has never seen before. Her body felt a bit awkward after sleep, but she quickly sat on the bed and then stood up. The weakness caused by the spell was now gone, but her mind still was slightly hazy. With the hope that other consequences of the spell will soon disappear as well, she put on her shoes and left the room.

Outside of the door she found a servant waiting for her, and she followed him to a spacious room with a couple of couches and numerous book shelves. There were three men in the room, and one of them looked familiar to Lia. He was the prince.

The servant introduced her to the men and stayed beside the door. The prince greeted her and smiled, before offering her a hand and guiding her to a couch so that she could sit down. Then he sat opposite her, and Lia realized that the other two men were now standing next to the row of bookshelves, watching her attentively. They were wearing dark gray robes, which she haven`t seen before, and didn`t know what kind of magic they meant.

The prince asked her about her health, and when she said that she feels much better, he smiled.

'Glad to hear that. I was worried that the spell which this filthy necromancer casted on you would turn out to be much worse.'

'He was a necromancer?'

'Yes,' mused the prince, and then his face suddenly darkened. He looked her directly in the eyes before asking: 'Did he say something to you before he left?'

For a second Lia hesitated, somewhat unsure if she should say this to the prince, but then she nodded.

'Yes. He said that the spell will make me protected from magical rituals,' said Lia. 

The prince frowned and looked at her with emotion in his eyes that made Austere blanch. She, however, managed to regain her serenity, so when the prince turned to one of the men in gray robes and made him a negligent gesture, after which the man quickly left, she looked as calm and confident as before.

'Well,' said the prince after a minute of silence and gave her another smile, although now it didn`t affect Lia`s perception in any way. 'If what he told you is true, then the spell did actually bring us a huge trouble... If you are still willing to marry me, of course, ' he narrowed his eyes.

'I am, my prince, ' Lia replied and smiled in turn, trying desperately to look sincere. 'I`ll do whatever necessary to help you reverse the spell.'

'Good.'

The prince was going to add something else, but at that moment the man in gray robes returned. He stopped in front of the prince and bowed to him.

'His majesty ordered me to confirm if the spell is in fact working against the magic of rituals. If it does, then we should come after the necromancer and force him to reverse it.'

'Then do it,' the prince causally replied. 'If the lady allows you to,' he continued and looked at Lia attentively.

'Yes, sure,' Lia nodded. 'Please do it.'

The examination wasn`t at all painful: the man simply rested his fingers on her temples and used his magic. Then he returned to the prince and said that the spell really prohibits any rituals. 

Lia assumed the gray color of robes means that the wizard is a master of mind magic.

She was dismissed soon after that and was leaded by the same servant back to the room. The prince said that she will join them in the evening when they go after the necromancer. Lia sighed and asked herself, why the necromancer even came here if he knew that the royal wizards will soon reach him and get him imprisoned?

***

A few hours later Lia was standing in a small garden outside of the castle, accompanied by the same servant. She came a bit early, because she was too nervous to stay in the room for any longer, so neither prince nor other wizards were present here yet. 

The servant looked seemingly apathetic, but his eyes monitored her every move. The more strange it was when the servant suddenly turned away from her and looked somewhere in the distance. Lia looked in the same direction, but there was really nothing interesting to catch his attention. Soon after that, however, she realized that she sees Noel approaching them, but from a very different direction. The servant, it seems, didn`t notice him, even when Noel stopped right in front of her.

'Don`t worry, he`ll be fine,' said Noel, who apparently caught her questioning gaze. 'Just didn`t want him to interrupt us. '

So, Noel was a wizard? Or did he have some other magical artifacts aside from the compass he gave her? Either way, it`s not that big of a difference. Just one more reason to be cautious when dealing with Noel.

'Actually… can I ask you a question?' continued Noel, looking thoughtful. Lia raised a single eyebrow at that, but then she nodded. 'Did you use the compass I gave you?'

'I did. Tell your friend thanks when you meet him the next time,' she said with a genuine smile.

'Yeah, sure,' he smiled in response. 'Shall I ask you another question then?' and, without waiting for her to respond, he asked. 'Do you really want to marry the prince?'

Lia felt her blood go cold, when Noel glanced at her with something dark gleaming in his eyes. She slowly breathed out before saying.

'I need to marry him.'

'But do you want to?' asked Noel and crossed his arms. The diamonds on the sheath attached to his forearm caught a light of the sun. 

'I want my family to regain its place beside the throne,' said Lia with a determined look.

'Oh, well. But what if I say that our precious king is in fact a usurper? There is another candidate for the throne, and he has much more rights to be the king. He is a real descendant of the royal family, he possesses powerful magical abilities and has numerous followers. I`m one of them.'

'Then how did it happen that he is not on the throne?'

'Huh, that`s a long story which we don`t have time for right now,' he smirked before continuing. 'What I want you to know is that you do have a choice. You`re not obliged to marry the prince if you don`t want to. We can protect your family from the king, and after we succeed you would be standing beside the rightful monarch, the same way as before.'

Lia wanted to say that the rightful monarch was assassinated when the wizards came into Elenghard, but she didn`t. Instead she replied: 'So how is your king different from the one on the throne?'

'Actually, he is different in many ways,' said Noel, smiling. 'But what`s most important for you personally – he won`t force you or any of your family into marriage.'

'Why is that?' asked Lia, not persuaded. She couldn`t find any solid reason for a wizard not to use her blood to enhance his magical abilities.

'Because he knows that your blood will show all its power only when magically connected to the person really close to you. In the royal family it was a widespread practice, so it is evident from their experience that best results are achieved only when the wizard and the donor have connections beyond the magical one. They could be relatives, friends, or lovers – doesn`t matter, as long as they share a powerful bond, ' he shrugged. 

Lia didn`t know any of this, but for some reason she believed that what Noel said is actually true. She heaved a long sigh and closed her eyes for a moment before replying. 

'So you`re saying that your king will let us free that easily?'

'To some extent, yes. You and your family will be free to share a bond with whoever you want. However, the main bloodline will be expected to remain close to the royal, so that the authority is to be secured.'

Lia nodded to that, but then she froze when a worrying idea crossed her mind.

'Has your king already found his match then?' she asked, and Noel frowned. He sighed heavily before replying.

'Yes, he has. It`s not you, if you`re worried about that,' said Noel reluctantly, and Lia narrowed her eyes. 'It`s your younger brother, Ren. His soul and his blood are a perfect match.'

Lia was thinking vigorously for about a minute, but then she shuddered and slowly looked up at Noel.

'Where is my brother?'

Noel sighed again and replied. 'Well, he is not at home, but do not worry, you`ll meet him pretty soon. He won`t be forced to the ritual or something, we just needed a confirmation. I guess, he`ll even return back home by the end of today.'

Lia remained silent, trying to hide all the emotions which could lead her into trouble if she shows them to Noel. The silence, however, didn`t last long.

'Anyway, we don`t have much time left,' said Noel. 'Remember what I told you before? Please, don`t rush into false conclusions... I don`t wish you any harm, I just want you to consider another path.' He hesitated for a moment, but then gave her a surprisingly gentle smile. 'You do have a choice. Just do whatever you think is necessary.'

She nodded, but couldn`t give him a smile in response. In fact, she didn`t even know how to feel right now, not to mention what she should think about all of that. 

Noel said her goodbye, looking somewhat concerned, and left. The servant was released from whatever magic controlled him, and resumed watching Lia`s every move like nothing really happened. Soon after that the two of them were joined by the prince, the two already familiar men in gray robes and a woman in red.

Lia`s mind was still working away furiously after the talk with Noel, so she was a bit surprised when she caught the woman`s glaze. 

'It`s nice to finally meet you, miss Austere,' the woman said with a smile, which Lia instantly mirrored. 'His majesty decided that my skills in fire magic could be helpful against the necromancer, so he sent me with the prince. Be sure to stand behind me, so that I could protect you if we get into trouble.'

'Um-m, yes, sure,' nodded Lia. 'Do not worry.'

Soon she discovered that their path to the necromancer lies through the `Misty Woods'. She heavily doubted that the wizards knew no other roads, but was inclined to believe that they were simply unsure if she doesn`t help the necromancer. What if she leads them into a trap?

Lia exhaled silently, when all of them were transported to the forest by another portal. 

Well, at least she knew that she could use the compass, have the things gone terribly wrong.

***

Ren woke up in a room with no windows, though it wasn`t dark in here thanks to numerous magical torches hanging on the walls. Aside from the bed he was currently lying on, the room was almost empty – only a wooden table was leaning against one of the walls. Ren curiously looked around, unsure how he managed to end up in such a place.

Probably there was some kind of notification spell, because soon after his waking someone knocked the door. Ren said to come in. When the door opened, he recognized the man who previously transported him with a portal. The place, however, didn`t look like a white marble castle he was supposed to be transported to. Does it mean that the man made something with the guards and in fact abducted him?

Ren was frowning when he raised his eyes to the man. 

'My apologies for deceiving you,' said the man with a sigh. He wasn`t wearing a robe anymore, but the black color of his clothes still was a reminder of his dark magical affinity. 'I assure you though that it was necessary for you to be here at the moment, so I simply didn`t have a choice.'

'You could have told me the truth.' Ren replied and eyed him through narrow eyes. 'Actually, what is it that you abducted me for? You haven`t explained it yet.'

'It wasn`t a lie when I told you that your sister is in trouble. The wedding was in fact disrupted. By me,' he grinned and leaned against the door. 'I had reasons for this, of course.  
One of them was to invite our precious prince to my place, ' said the man, whose name was still unknown, and waved his hand. 

'What about the others?' asked Ren with growing suspicion.

The man didn`t answer and looked intently at him for a long minute. Ren felt his body shivering from fear that finally stroke him, but then the man turned his eyes off him, and this made Ren strangely relaxed and returned control over his body.

'Well… if you aren`t going to answer, then I won`t insist you to,' he drawled.

'I`ll explain it to you later, now is not the time' said the man, looking thoughtful. 'What I can say, however, is that your sister will soon join us here. Until then I need to show you something.'

Ren sighed, but gave him a nod. 

The man leaded him out of the room and down several corridors, into an enormous library, much larger than the one in the Austere mansion. There were tons of old books and manuscripts, with strange magical items lying on shelves here and there. Ren was astounded by the sight of it. He wondered how much of interesting staff is in the room and if he could actually discover it himself.

The host smirked at his clearly visible amusement and kindly waved his hand to one of the bookshelves. Ren obediently followed the gesture and walked closer. Now he realized that this particular shelf had some sort of magical disguise on it. As soon as he touched it, the charm disappeared, though he doubted that it would behave the same way have someone else touched it. 

Behind the disguise were hiding two old-looking tomes and a strange silver coin, which instead of numbers had a very complicated pentagram carved on it. Ren glanced back at the man and received a curt nod. He grabbed the coin and closed his eyes, when comforting warm spread up his arm and through his whole body.

***

After their group has entered the woods, Lia to her surprise was settled down by the familiar view of gigantic brownish-green trees and gray airy mist. The woods were no longer spooky to her – she was rather relieved than scared. Maybe, the change happened because she already passed the test once, or the magic of the compass somehow influenced the forest… Either way, her mind was now clear, and she knew exactly what should be done.

The prince who was always accompanied by one of the other men – probably, his guards, - turned to her with a smile and asked, which direction she feels is the right one. Lia gave him a seemingly genuine smile in response and motioned her hand towards one of the many trails.

'I feel this one will lead us to the necromancer, my prince. If you don`t mind I`d like to go first, so that I could correct our path whenever necessary.'

The prince agreed, so she went first. Right behind her was the fire witch, followed by the prince, and the two guards were in the end. Lia felt so calm in the woods that she knew the two mind wizards caught that and became much less suspicious of her. Therefore, she confidently started her way up the trail, as if she knew where to go and didn`t just pick the first path that came to her mind. 

A few minutes later, when she twice turned right and once turned left, she saw that the woman was no longer watching her every move. Lia quickly opened her compass, without giving up walking, and concentrated on the image of the man in dark robes and with red eyes. The arrow on the magical sky of the compass started whirling. When it stopped, Lia followed the direction, and soon enough the five of them reached the end of the forest.

This time there was no sign of a castle. Instead, the woods led them to the entry of a cave, which continued somewhere deep underground. Lia looked back at her companions and saw them frowning.

'Good,' said the woman and came closer. 'Now, shall we change our positions? It would be better for me to lead the way.'

Lia nodded and joined the prince. When they entered the cave, she shuddered from a sudden feeling of cold, which soon disappeared.

'He knows where we are. Be careful,' quietly breathed out one of the guards. The prince nodded and unsheathed his sword – not very long, but definitely sharp.

They resumed walking, and the tension was growing as they approached the catacombs. Finally, they reached an entry arc. It was tall and quite beautiful, with ruby stones streaming magical light all over the passageway. The woman eyed it thoughtfully for a few seconds before she reached it with her hand and said something in a language unknown to Lia. A moment later the glow vanished, and they entered a large hall. It was all drowning in darkness, with only a couple of magical lights illuminating it. The fire witch huffed at this and casted a large glowing ball which flew up to the ceiling. Lia was stunned when she realized that the ball couldn`t reach it, so high it was.

They slowly moved forward, until they entered a corridor with doors on each side of it. The space so far looked empty, but the charm set on the arc and earlier in the cave implied that it wasn`t at all abandoned, so they started opening the doors one by one. Soon enough they opened the door which wasn`t empty, however, there was no necromancer in here. Instead, there was a boy sleeping inside the room. Lia recognized him as her own brother, Ren.

She froze at the sight of him and remembered what Noel told her before. Before the royal wizards could stop her, she rushed into the room and dragged Ren`s shoulder. Her eyes lit up with relieve when the boy woke up and smiled to her.

'Hello, sister,' said Ren with his voice husky from sleep and sat up.

'What are you doing here, Ren?' she asked and frowned at the wizards, who were watching her brother with obvious distrust. 

'Oh, this man abducted me when I was in our garden,' he shrugged. 'And what are you doing here, by the way?' 

'This man is a necromancer. He committed many crimes against the kingdom, including the spell he casted on your sister. We came here to catch him and punish him for all that he`s done, ' answered the prince, who was still holding his sword in one hand. Ren recognized him and bowed to him.

'Then I should say thank you, my prince, for rescuing me. I hope that the guilty one will receive what he deserves.'

'I`m sure he will,' the prince replied with a smirk.

Ren joined them, and they continued their way through the catacombs. All other rooms on the two sides of the corridor were empty. The one on its end, however, wasn`t.  
It was similar in size to the entry hall with the only difference being a larger number of magical lights floating in the air. In the center of the room was a gorgeous armchair, and sitting in it was exactly the man they were searching for. The owner of the place was dressed in the same robes he was wearing when Lia first met him, and the hood was hiding his face in the same manner, with only red eyes glowing in the dark. His posture was surprisingly relaxed, as if the presence of four powerful wizards didn`t bother him at all.  
Lia griped her brother`s hand and received a reassuring smile in return. She suddenly realized that Ren also looked surprisingly calm, as if he knew what is about to happen. 

'It`s been so long since we met last time…' said the prince with his hand which was holding the sword shaking from impatience. 'Tell me what spell did you cast on my fiancée, and I won`t kill you right away.'

'Oh, this is how you greet your relatives. You haven`t changed a slightest beat, my dear nephew,' sneered the necromancer and motioned somewhere to his right. 'The book which you need is over there, lying on the table. Is there something else I could help you with?'

'Yes,' the prince replied with anger growing in his eyes. 'Don`t fight back when we capture you, uncle Seelos. We are family after all, don`t put yourself into even more trouble.'  
The necromancer actually laughed. He stood up from the armchair, and the royal wizards looked at him with expectancy. Lia and Ren moved away from them, back to the entrance, unwilling to catch an accidental spell.

The fight, however, still has not begun. The tension was growing, but no one casted the first spell yet. Finally, Seelos slowly raised his hand, and a bright flash of light illuminated the room, causing the Austere siblings to close their eyes. 

When they looked at the wizards again what they saw was a giant pentagram glowing on the floor. The necromancer was standing at the center of the pattern with others just outside of it. When the prince realized that the pentagram works as a barrier and doesn`t allow them to pass through, he growled and tried it with his sword, which glowed intensively from the amount of magic he put into it. When this didn`t work, however, he nodded to the witch and took a few steps back. The witch started throwing fire spells against the barrier, while the mind wizards were kneeling on the floor and murmuring something. The waves of magic were radiating from the wizards, making Lia and Ren to go farther and farther away from them.

At one moment Lia suddenly realized that the necromancer, Seelos, wasn`t looking at all the spells thrown against the barrier. He was glancing directly at her and Ren. For some reason she could tell that the man was smiling.

She heard Ren exhaling heavily before something changed. 

It felt as if cold wind started to blow from the center of the room. The barrier started to crack from the attacking spells, and the men in gray raised their voice, quickly pronouncing one magical sequence after another. The wind nonetheless continued to grow in intensity, and soon it became evident that it comes from Seelos himself. 

The necromancer carefully extended his arms, as if trying to control something enormous and devastating in its power. Then he gave one last look to the Austere before decisively joining his hands together. 

Lia had an impression that space inside the room has blown up. She as well as others fell on the floor from the shock wave. When she was able to stand up, she saw the pentagram burning red, but gradually cooling down. There was no barrier anymore.

When she glanced at the middle of the pentagram she haven`t seen the necromancer. Instead, there was a heap of ash, which was soon blown all over the pentagram. Lia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The man was gone.

Ren, who was also looking at the pentagram with an unreadable expression on his face, turned to her and gave her a hug. She embraced him in return and hid her face. 

The prince swore under his breath and ordered his people to check the place. They actually found the book about which the necromancer has told them. Soon the charm on Lia was cancelled.

***

The wedding ceremony was played the same day. 

Lia and the prince mixed their blood in a golden goblet and made a sip of it. Their hands were joined by a red thread, and a dozen of clerics who encircled them proclaimed the magical words. 

The new princess of Elenghard was greeted by her people, and she gave them a gentle smile. 

A few steps behind her the Austere family was standing. Her father has already received the seal, and he and the Heir were looking at other aristocrats with dignity in their eyes. Her younger brother, however, wasn`t looking at other guests. Ren was watching her and the prince, and when she glanced at him he grinned in response and nodded.

Lia turned back to her husband and saw him waving his hand to the people. His other hand was holding a tight grip on hers.

She looked down at her free arm. A bit above a white delicate glove Lia was wearing a silver bracelet with no clasp. It felt warm on her skin and could do various magical things, some of which she already tried. 

Ren explained to her what she should do with this gift, and Lia was determined to follow his words.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first English fiction ever. I hope it`s not that bad and you`ve enjoyed it at least to some degree :)


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